A supplement to the first and second books of the History of Cornwall / [by R. Polwhele] ; containing remarks on St. Michael's Mount, Penzance, the Land's End, and the Sylleh Isles. By the historian of Manchester [i.e. J. Whitaker].

  • Richard Polwhele
Date:
1804
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A supplement to the first and second books of the History of Cornwall / [by R. Polwhele] ; containing remarks on St. Michael's Mount, Penzance, the Land's End, and the Sylleh Isles. By the historian of Manchester [i.e. J. Whitaker]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    places. It was near the N. W. corner of a fmall enclofure, furrounded by a thick uncemented wall, or hedge, which feems to have Hood ever fince the interment of the urn; for it was found at the foot of a very long and large ftone inferred in the wall, which might ferve as a memento, about a foot under the furface of the earth, and covered by a flat ftone of granite. The foil in this enclofure being rather deep, the fanner carried off the furface, even to the fubftratum of clay, to manure other lands, and juftly thinking that potatoes would thrive well in clay, and that the dung in which they were tilled would fertilize the mold, and prepare it for a crop of corn, a method of agriculture very prevalent in Cornwall, in digging up this clay he threw his pickaxe into the urn, and broke it into many pieces. Thefe coins, as well as thofe found at Godolphin, were almoft all of them copper, but a few were of the ancient lead, a coin much more rare than the former, a very perfeft one of which fell into my hands. A Jew likewife got pofleflion of thofe coins, and retailed them round the country for about a penny a piece, tho’ moftly in a high ftate of prefervation. If this urn had been found in Dr. Borlafe’s time, as it lay within three quarters of a mile of Caftle Chun, between which two fpots there are many walls of a conftruttion fimilar to that where the coins were dug up, it would probably have changed his opinion refpefting the builders of that fortification, which he fuppofes to be of Daniih erec- tion; and indeed he feemed to have fome doubts on this fubjedt, for he fays, page 316, “ Some “ of our round intrenchments on the tops of round hills in Cornwall, may be Roman works, if “ either way pafs near or through them, or coins be found in them.” It is difficult to conceive why the dodtor did not determine Caftle Chun to be a Roman fortification; for in his defcription of an intrenchment in the parifh of St. Agnes, he fays, page 314, that it was formed with too much art and military fcience for either Britons, Saxons, or Danes ; and yet in fpeaking of Caftle Chun, which he pronounces to be Danifh, he fays, page 347, “ The whole of this work, the “ neatnefs and regularity of the walls, providing fuch fecurity for their entrance, flanking, and di- “ viding their fofs, fhews a military knowledge fuperior to that of any other works of this kind “ which I have feen in Cornwall.”* M The * “ If this Caftle Chun (fays Mr. Hitchins) was a ftation of the Romans, which feems extremely probable, not only from the great military fkill employed in erefting it, but alfo from the coins lately found near it, anterior to their fettlement there, it was a favourite hill of the Druids, if they were, as is generally fuppofed, the builders of Cromlehs 5 for, about five hundred yards from the caftle there is one on the notth fide; at little more than a mile there are two on the eaft fide ; and two more ii^ the north-eaft, diftant four miles and three quarters. Thefe cromlehs, except one of them lately found, have been well deferibed and delineated by the learned and accurate Dr. Borlafe ; but the great dejideratum he lived not to fee, i. e. a human body inhumed under one of thofe eieftions, which has been recently difeovered in the parifh of Madron, and within a half mile of the famous Lanyon Cromleh, vulgarly called the Giant’s Quoit. This Cromleh was found a few years fince by the following incident. The gentleman, who is leafeholder of the eftate of Lanyon, under Mr. Rafhlergh, happening, in walk- ing through his fields, to be overtaken by a fhower of rain, took fhelter behind a large bank of earth and ftones, and ob- ferving that the earth was rich, it occurred to him that it might be ufeful for a compoft. Accordingly he fent his fervants foon after to carry it off, when, having removed a verv large quantity, they difeovered the fupporters of a Cromleh, from which the cover-ftone was flipped off on the fouth-weft fide, but ftill leaning againft them. Thefe fupporters include a reft- angular fpace, open only at the north end, and their dimensions are of a very extraordinary fize, viz. that forming theeaftem fide being about ten feet and half long; that on the weft nine feet, with a fmall fupplementary one to complete the length ; and the ftone fhutting up the fouth end being about five feet wide. The cover-ftone is about thirteen feet and half, by ten feet and half; but its exaft length, and the height of the fupporters, cannot be readily afeertained, as they are partly in- ferred in the ground. The prefent height is about five feet above the furface of the field, and the cover-ftone contains many more folid feet than that of the other Cromleh (landing on this eftate. Except the fmall Cromlfih near Caftle Chun, this is diffimilar to all others found in this county, which have fmall fupporters, and the area under the cover-ftone open on all Tides ; whereas this, when the cover was on, was (hut up almoft quite clofe, except at the entrance on the north fide, and appears to Tefemble Kitt's Cotty Houfe, in Kent, though the dimenfions of that are much fmaller. As foon as the gentle- man]
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